Summary: Gun Ownership - should it be allowed or not?

● Summary: Gun ownership and should it be allowed:

→ In order to be able to possess a gun, you have to first obtain a certificate;
→ There are many checks through which a person first has to pass before he could be issued with such a certificate: drug abuse check, mental state check, whether the person has a secure space in which to store the weapons, etc;
→ Many debates are currently going on about whether the gun ownership should be limited due to tragic casualties associated with them, such as homicides, suicides and massacres;
→ One of the examples of a massacre was the incident in Norway in the Summer of 2011, when a man dressed as a policeman entered the Liberal Party Youth Camp, where there were many youngsters between the age of 16-22, and a few as young as 13, as well as adults of 30 years old. The man opened fire, killing around 90 youngsters. Both Britain and America were appaled by the actions of the terrorist, and condemned his actions. The British Police has offered help with the investogation of the reasons behind shooting. The Security Council of the UN has also condemned the actions in Norway in the "strongest terms" and they have sent their sympathies and condolences to the victims and the Norwegian government. The Council stated: ``Any acts of terrorism are criminal and  unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.'' This basically means this terroristic attack shall not be justified that no matter what the intentions or the reasons behind it were;
→ A massacre like that is not the first one to take place. There was also an incident before which took place in Dunblane, Britain, where 16 schoolkids and their teacher got killed by a man named Thomas Hamilton. This action was followed by a ban on all handguns by the UK Parliament;
→ But despite the tragic outcomes of the gun usage, there are still many benefits of owning a gun, such as, giving people a means by which to defend themselves against crimes and threats. Also, guns aren't only used for killing people, but have an applicance in the leasure and farming sector. A farmer can use a gun to protect his livestock from wild animals, while leisure industry includes activities such as target shooting and hunting, which is even limited to specific areas;
- In England and Wales there are 713,674 certified holders of guns, and more than 1.4 million of shotguns are being held, as well as around 450,000 firearms. The numbers in Ireland are way lower;

References: 

1) Casciani D. 2010. Gun control and ownership laws in the UK (online article, available 4th November 2011 at www.bbc.co.uk);
2) Endersby A. 2009. Gun Control (online article, available 4th November at www.idebate.org);
3) BBC News 2011. Norway police say 85 killed in island youth camp attack (online article, available 4th November 2011 at www.bbc.co.uk);
4)  UN condemns Norway massacre (online article, available 24th july 2011, last viewed 4th November 2011 at www.examiner.com);
5) Pilkington D. Norway massacre: UK police offer help (online article, available 24th july 2011, last viewed 4th November 2011 at www.independant.co.uk);